Winners 2014/Internal Communications Bronze

Project: YOU are who WE are

Client: GL Noble Denton

Design: Westhill Communications

GL Noble Denton (GLND) is an independent technical advisor to the oil and gas industry. Two surveys conducted by GLND in 2011 highlighted internal issues: employees were proud of their work but felt undervalued by management, and clients valued employee expertise but were unaware of the full service portfolio.

Westhill Communications worked alongside GLND to tackle these perceptions, creating a new advertising campaign that put employees centre stage. ‘YOU are who WE are’ was a complete departure from GLND’s existing marketing, focusing on the real people behind the machinery and their skills and expertise.

For the campaign to be successful, employees needed encouragement to put themselves forward. 16,000 emails were sent to 4,000 employees, of which more than half were opened against a target of 25%. In the first month, the emails resulted in 118 nominations, almost quadrupling the original goal of 30. Employee retention has also increased.